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Standards applicable to hydraulic truck cranes

Summary An OSHA regional administrator asked how construction crane standards apply to hydraulic truck cranes. OSHA said its truck crane rule covers them, with a hydraulic crane standard addressing them specifically and an ANSI crane standard supplying additional safety practices. It said a later ANSI standard could be used where it covered a hazard the OSHA rule did not address. OSHA archives the memo.
Document
Federal opinion letter
Agency
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
Document number
1984-06-28-0
Date issued
June 28, 1984
Status
Archived by the agency
OSHA labels this an archive document and warns that it may no longer represent OSHA policy.
Status last verified October 10, 2026
Topics
Workplace Safety OSHA 1926 Cranes Construction Equipment Consensus Standards
Source
View the official document

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NOTICE: This is an OSHA Archive Document, and may no longer represent OSHA Policy. It is presented here as historical content, for research and review purposes only.

June 28, 1984

MEMORANDUM FOR: ROGER A. CLARK
Regional Administrator

FROM: JOHN B. MILES, JR., Director
Directorate of Field Operations

SUBJECT: Applicability of 29 CFR 1926.550(a)(17) and (b)(2) to
Hydraulic Truck Cranes

29 CFR 1926.550(b)(2) states:

All crawler, truck, or locomotive cranes in use shall meet the applicable requirements for design, inspection, construction, testing, maintenance and operation as prescribed in the ANSI B30.5-1968, Safety Code for Crawler, Locomotive and Truck Cranes.

It is intended that 29 CFR 1926.550 cover all truck cranes. However, hydraulic truck cranes are specifically addressed in 29 CFR 1926.550(a)(17) with the reference to the Power Crane and Shovel Association Mobile Hydraulic Crane Standard No. 2. Section 8 of the above mentioned reference refers the user back to ANSI B30.5 for additional safety practices and to that degree both standards are applicable to hydraulic truck cranes.

At the time the standards were developed ANSI B30.15 mentioned in your correspondence did not exist; therefore, it may only be used where the specifics of B30.15 cover a hazard not addressed with the coverage of 29 CFR 1926.550.

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